Surviving Sunday: Packers News, Notes and Links for the Football Deprived

If you missed the three-hour ESPN special unveiling the NFL schedule, congratulations. I was open minded enough to give it a shot, but only managed to last about five minutes before trying to leap through my living-room window.

Three hours to unveil the NFL schedule?! I allow the NFL and the Green Bay Packers to monopolize my life from September through January. I can’t let them do the same in April.

Besides, why watch an ESPN anchor read off a cue card and a bumbling former player or two unveil the schedule in Bristol, CT, when you could just visit ALLGBP.com and find out all you need to know? Here’s a link to the NFL schedule, and below are some random thoughts on the portion of the schedule that involves the greatest franchise in the history of sports, the Packers.

I was hoping the Packers would play the Giants in the NFL’s Wednesday kickoff game. I didn’t care about exacting revenge for the playoff loss, but it would’ve been nice for the Packers to get 10 days off after the season opener. It turns out the Packers will get 10 days off early in the season, but it comes after playing the Bears on Thursday night in week two.

I’m mad that the Packers don’t have an early October home game. Those first three weeks in October are perfect for football at Lambeau.

The Packers should be shooting for 7-2 by the bye week. That’s assuming they’ll go 2-2 against San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans and Houston. I wouldn’t be surprised if they go into the bye 9-0 or 8-1 (I think San Francisco comes back down to earth a little), but 7-2 would be fine.

The Packers generally have at least one December clunker where they lose to a bad team. The Vikings might be the bad team that beats the Packers this season. Minnesota will have two chances, the first on Dec. 2 at Lambeau and in the finale on Dec. 30. Perhaps it’ll come on Dec. 30 when the Packers are resting starters (how’s that for confidence?).

Speaking of that Dec. 30 game, what if it’s the Vikings’ final game in Minnesota? Do Packers and Vikings fans hug after the game and wish each other well? Do Vikings fans become Packers fans? Do Packers fans allow Vikings fans to become Packers fans? Do Packers fans continue to hate the Vikings even if they’re in Los Angeles? So many questions…

I don’t like regular Thursday night games. If I had my way, all games would be on Sunday. This season, you have games on Thursday, Sunday afternoon, Sunday night, Monday night and a few Saturdays toward the end of the season. That’s overkill. I know the NFL is trying to stuff as much money into its pockets as it can, but too much of a good thing can damage a product in the long term. (Yes, I would get rid of Monday Night Football if I was in charge. Monday nights are for professional wrestling,)

Ted Thompson spoke to the media earlier this week and said, as usual, next to nothing. He did say that Nick Collins’ status remains up in the air and that it won’t affect how the Packers run the upcoming draft. By now, we all should know the drill. Thompson sticks close to his draft board and doesn’t necessarily draft based on perceived needs. If Thompson sees a safety he likes on the board early in the draft, he’ll take him, regardless of Collins’ status.

Offseason workouts kicked off this week and Chad Clifton participated. Since Clifton isn’t owed his $5.25 million base salary until the regular season starts, the Packers have some time to decide if 1) Clifton is healthy enough to play and 2) Clifton can still contribute. I’m not ready to hand the left tackle job over to Marshall Newhouse or Derek Sherrod, so giving Clifton and his creaky joints a shot to re-prove himself is a good call.

Tired of waiting for the Packers to call him, Ryan Grant visited the New England Patriots this week. I wouldn’t expect Grant to sign anywhere until a week or two after the draft. The market is dead for Grant, and all running backs, right now. He’ll make a few visits in an attempt to generate some interest and wait for the market to pick back up a little bit.

In Case you Missed It

Calvin Johnson beat Aaron Rodgers in the semifinals of the Madden 13 cover contest. Johnson won even though he plays more FIFA than Madden. Soccer video games, Megatron? Really?

I’ve enjoyed the new Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel podcast with Bob McGinn and Tyler Dunne. This week’s pod features Brian Carriveau from CheeseheadTV subbing for McGinn and is worth your time. Also be sure to check out Aaron Nagler’s new podcast at The Go Route.

I wrote about the Vikings’ stadium situation last week and there were several new developments this week. Basically, the Minnesota legislature decided not to bring the stadium bill out of committee, effectively killing any chance of the bill passing this session.

In an attempt to save the day, Roger Goodell flew to Minnesota on Friday to visit with lawmakers and hold some sort of last-minute stadium pep rally. This caused the legislature to spring into action and possibly revive the bill.

I still don’t think anything passes this session. Zygi Wilf’s plane was reportedly spotted in California this week and the threats of relocation should pick up steam. My guess is Gov. Mark Dayton will call a special session to deal with the stadium after the November elections. This allows the lame duck House and Senate to pass something without fear of repercussion at the polls.

That’s how we do things in America. We make difficult decisions only when forced to, and only when the potentially negative consequences can be minimized.

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Adam Czech is a a freelance sports reporter living in the Twin Cities and a proud supporter of American corn farmers. When not working, Adam is usually writing about, thinking about or worrying about the Packers. Follow Adam on Twitter. Twitter .